'Very summery and very fresh'

Scott and Barbara Hudson with some of the works in the exhibit in their relocated gallery.

Five artists have contributed to Fresh Paint, a new exhibit in the Hudson Gallery's new downtown Sylvania location.

"It's a body of new work. It's very summery and very fresh," said Scott Hudson, co-owner with his wife, Barbara Hudson, of the shop, formerly located in a strip mall on Monroe Street.

There are huge, finely brushed oil paintings by Dennis Wojtkiewicz, each of a piece of sliced fruit - a halved apple, a melon crescent - so luminescent they appear to be backlit. There are exquisite watercolor portraits of amaryllis, water lilies, and orchids with subtle shadow play by artist/gardener David Herzig.

Large (5-feet-by-7-feet) paintings by Colleen McCubbin-Stepanic capture the joy of a child leaping off a diving board with even her toes ready for the impossibly blue water.

The charming figures who inhabit cafes and vodka bars are by New York City painter and Sandusky native Elinore Schnurr.

Gallery keeper Hudson has included his new series of abstracted memories; one is of a harbor in Michigan, and another is of a day spent trout fishing near a bridge at Rock Run, Pa. "I try to immerse myself in that time, and distill that time," he said. The result is furrows in families of colors, each canvas bearing one or two exclamatory bands of unexpected hue.

Work of these painters ranges in price from a few hundred dollars to $10,000. The exhibit runs through Aug. 30.

The gallery will be open for tonight's Taking it to the Streets - downtown Sylvania's buy-local promotion from 5 to 9 p.m.

In addition, all of the artists will attend Saturday's reception from 6 to 9 p.m.

The Hudsons opened their first gallery in August, 2003, aiming to bring talented contemporary printmakers to town. Art sales are balanced by framing, which accounts for about half of their business. They've been so successful, they needed more space and with the move, added about 1,000 additional square feet.

"There's kind of a renaissance in downtown Sylvania. We wanted to keep the ball rolling and be a part of that," said Hudson.

With 12-foot-high, tin ceilings and antique French doors set into the walls, the building dates to the mid-19th century. For years, it housed Lindau Drug.

Facing the sidewalk, the front area of the gallery will feature revolving shows. "It's going to allow us to have larger and more frequent exhibits," Hudson said.

A middle area will display fine crafts: hand-blown glass, pottery, wood turning, fiber art. "We have had a lot of people looking for that kind of thing and we just haven't had the space," he said.

The back area is dedicated to framing.

The Fresh Paint exhibit featuring works by David Herzig, Scott Hudson, Colleen McCubbin-Stepanic, Elinore Schnurr, and Dennis Wojtkiewicz continues through Aug. 30 in Hudson Gallery, 5645 North Main St. in downtown Sylvania. An artists' reception will be 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Information: 419-885-8381.

Contact Tahree Lane at:

tlane@theblade.com

or 419-724-6075.